I Love You that Way
by AleThe-Hedgefox84
Summary: With Shadow more drepresed than ever, Tails and Sonic decide to bring Maria back through scientific procedures. Now the problem is that Shadow has changed since she was younger. Will she still love him? (includes other pairings as well) ShadowXMaria, ManicXSonia.
1. Chapter 1

—Shadow's POV—

I walked down station Square on my way to Miles's house at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The blue faker told me to meet him and Miles at their house because they had a 'solution for my problem'. I knew exactly what they meant, and even though I knew they didn't I deceided to go anyways. It's not like I actually had something to do. I didn't have any GUN missions this weekend (Rouge and I pony workedcon weekends because we had school during the week), Rouge was busy, and Omega was over at GUN headquarters.

I was wearing a pair of black jeans, a black T-shirts under a black leather jacket, and my usual skate shoes.

I got to Miles' house about 30 minutes later and knocked. "Sup Shadz!" greeted the blue hedgehog as soon as he opens the door. "Hello faker...and 'Shadz' isn't my name" "Well 'faker' isn't mine"

Miles came and stood beside the blue one and greeted me. "Hi Shadow...so glad you could make it" he said with a smile. "Well I didn't had anything better to do" I said. "It's not like you have a life" mumbled Sonic, but it was loud enough for me to hear. I glared at him as Miles elbowed him. "Be nice" he whispered, but he was too stubborn to listen. "Well its true!"

I had had enough of this bullshit. I hadn't cone here to get insulted! I began to make my way to the door when Miles grabbed my wrist. "Please don't leave, Shadow!" he pleaded. "Why? All Sonic's done is insult me! I am not going to put with it.." "He'll stop"

"Yeah I'll stop...I'm sorry Shadow...I've been stressed all week that's all" said the faker. I hesitated before answering. "Okay...I'll stay"

"Good" answered Miles. "So what do you want? why did you wanted me here?" I asked crossing my arms. The faker and Miles looked at each other and hesitated. "Well..." Miles started, "I invented a machine...that might be able to bring Maria back. But I need to test it." said Miles. My heart began to pump slightly faster as I heard her name. Maria...There wasn't a day when I woke up without her on my mind. I could still hear her angelic voice and I could still see her ocean-blue eyes. I even remember the first time she held my hand as we looked at Earth from the Ark. The warmth and softness of her hand...

I shook my head and tried to focus on Miles' words. "Okay. what do you need?" I asked him immediately. "A DNA sample. That's all" he replied

"NOW HOW THE F-"

"Maybe you could find some of her hair in the Space Colony Ark..or some splattered blo-...I-I mean...uh...I'm sorry" he said uneasily. At that moment all I could see and remember was blood. Maria's blood splattered on the flo-

"Shadow are you okay?" asked the idiotic blue sea urchin. "Yes...I'm fine..." I answered as I took a green chaos emerald from my quills and teleported before any of them could say anything else.

I appeared in one of the hallways of the Ark. The metal walls were slightly rusty and the glass on the othe other side and small cracks in it. But it gave me good view of the little blue planet Maria loved so much.

_Someday...someday, Shadow, we'll go down to Earth up see the beautiful things that await there for us...the blue ocean, the green grass..._

I walked down the hallway trying to find Maria's room, but all I could do was remember more of those precious moments.

_We'll be friends forever...right Maria?_

_Yes Shadow...forever and e-ever_

_...Maria...why are you crying?_

Maybe I wouldn't remember. I mean it has been years since I've been here. I stopped my tracks until I reached the dead end of the hallway. In front of me was a door 101. I thought wouldn't kill to look, so I opened the rusty metal door and walked inside. It was Maria's room. Everything was covered in dust. The closet doors, the desk, the bed and the drawers. There was nothing useful in sight, so I decided to search the drawers and found a red hairbrush. It still had some golden hair on it. I just couldn't believe my luck. Looks like I do have a good memory.

"Wow" said Miles. "I didn't actually think you would find any" he said as he put on a pair of latex gloves. "Now if you could leave the scientists alone so he can work" said the faker as he began to push me put the door. I decided to not protest and take a nap under a tree on Miles' backyard.

I heard a voice calling my name. "Shut...up...Sonic" I groaned as I tried to go back to sleep. But he wouldn't leave me alone. His ungloved hand began to rub my chest. At that moment my eyes snapped open, only to see it wasn't Sonic. It was a blond hedgehog with light blue eyes and she was wearing blue shorts and a white tank top that was too big for her. She looked so...so...

"Oh my gosh your nose is bleeding! are you okay?"

"Yeah...who are you anyway?"

She leaned closer to me and laid her hand on mine. "Don't you recognize me, Shadow?"

_Shadow?_

"M...Maria?" This can't be...It possibly couldn't!

I could feel my heart racing faster, and being overwhelmed with something...emotion?

What emotion? Because it felt pleasant. It felt nice and made me feel...relieved?

She gave me a warm smile. "Your friend Tails explained everything, and your friend Sonic let me borrow this clothes" she said. "I...I can't believe its really you" I said and hugged her tightly. It seemed so unreal, like a dream. I felt as if my heart could explode. it was such a strong feeling. A _positive _feeling. But I could feel my eyes watering and my heart pumping, which confused me because tears often mean sadness. "M-maria..." I whispered, "y...you don't know how much I've missed you" I said before kissing her cheek. "Shadow are you crying?" she asked pulling away from the hug. "I-I'm not crying" I answered. "Sure you're not" Maria teased before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

We went back inside Miles' house and talked for a while. Miles explained why Maria was in a hedgehog's body (which I didn't really paid attention to). The important thing was that she was here. He also said that he had tested a blood sample from Maria and she turned out to be negative for a lot of diseases. He said the names but I was too diatracted too pay attention. Suddenly, Maria hugged me tightly. "Did you hear, Shadow? I'm not sick!" she said happily. I looked at Miles and saw that he looked uneasy. He was going to say something before Maria exclaimed excitedly, but stopped himself. Maybe it was something negative. I decided to ask him afterwards when Maria wasn't around.

Miles began to explain to Maria the basics of the technology of our time (which only confused her more) and Sonic began to tell her 'what guys find hot' about girls.

"Sonic I don't believe that's something she needs to know that" I interrupted him. He turned to me and smirked. "Why? She's a girl and it's normal for her to be interested in guys...thought it be hot if she's into girls..." he said, making Maria blush in embarrassement. He smiled at her and winked. "Besides...I'm available"

I growled. How dare he?!

"You mad Bro? you jelous?"

"I'M NOT JELOUS!" I yelled. This was outrageous! I WAS NOT JELOUS! WHY WOULD I BE?!

I looked over at Maria who was giggling at the scene with a slight blush in her face. I looked away to hide the blush in my face. "Anyway..." said Sonic, "we need to get you some clothes. You can't be running around in my clothes" he chuckled, "And I know just the girl who can help"

Amy came over in 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure she ran put her house as soon as Sonic said the word 'shopping' into the phone. "It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Amy Rose" said the pink hedgehog as she shook Maria's hand violently. "I'm Maria Robotnick" "Shadow has told us so much about you!"

Oh no.

"Really?"

"Yes! He's always talking about your beautiful eyes and your soft-"

Miles coughed loudly to interrupt the awkward moment. I sighed in relief. I owed him for saving my ass. "Aaaannnnyyywaaayy...when are you girls going shopping?" asked Sonic. "You mean _we_" said Amy. "What do you mean 'we'?" asked Miles. "Well you guys need new clothes" said Amy checking her watch. "And we better get going, the mall closes in 3 hours! we don't have enough time!"

Oh God. How much time did we needed?

As soon as we got to the mall, we split up to buy clothes we needed. I hated the idea of being separated from Maria, but Amy insisted because they had to buy 'girl stuff'

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "Bras" replied Amy. "O-oh" I said awkwardly. "Then let me give you some ring bills" I said as I reached into my pocket for my wallet. "No no I'll buy it" she said. I shrugged and put my wallet away.

"Uh...I hate shopping!" cried Miles. "Yeah! You gotta go from store to store to find clothes and walk and walk and walk and walk" said had syopped at a couple of stores already. I bought a blue T-shirt (which made Sonic gasp wgen I bought it) "But I'm sure Shadz doesn't mind" "And why would you think that?" I asked. "Because...you wanna look hot for Maria"

I tried not to blush and shoved him. "Shut up!" I hissed. "Let's just walk around and wait for the girls" suggested Miles. "Good idea, Miles" I said. "Shadow...why do you keep calling me Miles? just call me Tails"

"okay...Tails"

"Hey guys!" called a familiar voice from behind us. I turned around to see the pothead white hedgehog in company of Charmy, Espio and Knuckles. "Hey pothead" I greeted with a chuckle. "Shut up Shadow..so what are you guys doing here?" he asked. "Oh you know...hunting chili dogs..." answered Sonic sarcastically, making Charmy and Espio laugh. Knuckles just chuckled. We talked for a while while waiting for the girls to finnish their shopping. It turns out Cosmo, Blaze, Rouge, Tikal, Cream and Marine (who was brought against her will by Cream) were there too.

Maria and the girls met us 2 hours later in the food area. Maria was now wearing blue skinny jeans with a tight blue shirt with a text smile on it. She looked beautiful (especially since she wasn't wearing any makeup)

Suddenly, Sonic elbowed me. "Dude...looks like you're too happy to see her" he whispered as he handed me one of Amy's shopping bags. I blushed as I realized what he meant and quickly laid it on my lap. Luckily none of the girls notices this. But the guys did. Damn it.

"So...what are we gonna get?" asked Blaze making sure everyone in th gang heard her.

"How about pizza?" asked Cosmo. "Yeah pizza" agreed Tails almost as soon as she said it. I couldn't help to chuckle. "But I want ice cream" said Silver making his puppy face. "No Silver" Blaze said simply.

I looked over at Maria. She was still looking around the mall. Everything was new to her since she had been locked up in the Ark for so long. And specifically since this was a different planet, not Earth. At least she's not sick anymore. Tails told me that he had run some tests with a blood sample of hers and she turned out to be as healthy as Sonic.

"Are you okay with pizza Maria?" I asked her. "Uh...okay" she responded.

We had decided what to order and let Blaze and Silver order. Sonic, Amy, Espio, Charmy, Maria and I sat at one table while Rouge, knuckles, Blaze, Silver, Tikal and Marine sat at another. Cosmo, Tails, Charmy and Cream decided that they were not hungry and they decided to walk around the mall before we left. I was kind of awkward to be getting chairs from other tables and putting them by our table so we could sit together. But hey, we were teens.

Maria seemed to be enjoying herself so far. Amy and her talked and talked while Sonic, Espio and I ate and exchanged a few words (There's a huge difference!)

"So...what about the accident from earlier?" asked Espio.

Shit.

"I...don't wanna talk about it" I said embarrassed. Maria looked at me and smiled. I couldn't help to feel my heartbeat increase as I smiled back. From the corner of my eye I could see Espio's and Sonic's eyes go wide. Then Charmy's when he came back and floated next to Espio. "SHADOW IS SMILING?! is the world gonna end Espio?" asked Charmy. "I hope not" answered Espio.

"Oh my God Mr. Shadow's smiling!"

"Holy Shit!" cursed Knuckles. "C'mon guys leave him alone..." said Blaze while everyone was diatracted looking at me. Then she slowly reached for the last slide of pizza and bit into it. "C'mon guys just leave me alone" I said beginning to feel frustrated.

"Shadow...why are they so shocked to see you smile? what do they mean by- "

"Well well well looky here" said a familiar voice from my right. I turned to see Scourge Hedgehog standing there. I growled at the sight of him. Everyone hated him. Why? Because he was a conceided bastard who didn't have respect for anyone or anything. He's stubborn, cocky and my enemy since he is friends with Mephiles.

Without looking I already knew Espio was taking out his ninja stars and Sonic had stood up. "Hey hey I'm not causing any harm" Scourge said as he put his hands up in defense. "I just came to say hi to Shadow's new girlfriend"

"She is not my-

"And to warn her about your anger issues.. " he interrupted. "Anger issues?" asked Maria. "Don't listen to him" I heard Amy say to Maria. "Just admit it Shadow...you have anger issues...and this hottie doesn't deserve ya" he said licking his lips. "Show more respect you scumbag!" I yelled and stood up from my seat. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, making cold sweat run down my spine and my forehead, but I didn't care. He had to have respect for Maria!

"Remember that time you tried to stab my eyes out with a pen?"

"You put drugs in my locker!"

"And that time you broke Sonic's arm?"

"It was P.E., we were wrestling and it was an accident!"

"How about the fact that you're yellin' just now?"

This damn bastard wanted to provoke me! He walked over to Maria and eyed her up and down. "You know what I would do to you?"

That was it. I lost it! I growled and ran towards him. I grabbed his right arm and twisted it till it made a cracking noise.

"AAAAHHHH!" screamed the green hedgehog. But I wasn't finished. I lifted him up and slammed him into our table, breaking it and covering him in soda and the leftover sauerkraut and grade. "F...Fiona..." he called out before passing out. Then his girlfriend Fiona came running towards him. But she was no different than him. She was a bitch.

I was breathing heavily because of the rush and fury running through me. I looked around me. All I saw were shocked looks and scared looks coming from the younger ones. Cream was hugging Sonic tightly as she hid her face in his abdomen, while Tails and Cosmo held each other. Then there was Maria. There was no way to describe the expression on he face. She whispered something to Amy and they left. Then everyone started to leave without saying a word.

I was about to leave when saw the mall cop coming towards me, so I decided to stay. I might as well pay for the damages that _can_ be fixed.


	2. Chapter 2

—Amy's POV—

I texted

my mom, told her what happened and that Maria had nowhere to stay now. My mom said it was okay if Maria stayed with us for a couple of days. I was actually a little amazed that she let her stay, I mean she doesn't even know her and my mom's usually very paranoid about strangers.

"They'll probably kill you and use your body to transport drugs across the country!" she'd say.

I asked Maria if she wanted to stay at my place for the rest of the night and she said yes. She looked terrified of Shadow! Like she had never seen this side of him. I've doubt he'd ever been violent towards Maria back at the Ark. Shadow was already scary looking thank-you-very-much.

It was a long way to my house but luckily Rouge offered to give us a ride in her van. Cosmo left with Tails (who probably took her home flying) and the guys left in Knuckles' car.

The ride was silent until we reached my house. "Thanks for the ride, Rouge" I said waving goodbye. "Thanks for everything! It was such a pleasure to meet you all" said Maria, waving as well.

We went inside my house silently. Maria hadn't said a word and neither had I. All the lights were turned off so I assumed mom had gone to sleep. I checked my watch and it was 10:50 p.m.

"It's late but we don't have to go to sleep yet if you don't want to...do you want to go to sleep?" I asked. She looked at me and hesitated to answer. "No...I don't want to go to sleep...maybe we could just chat for a while" she answered with a smile.

"So...how was Shadow... back at the Ark?"

"Well...he was really cute and adorable. He always smiled when we played around the halls of the Ark, even though we weren't supposed to in the first place. But his smile would always fade when my grandfather called him into his lab..."

"Why?"

"Because he ran tests with his DNA and taught him how to use guns...he hates violence...or at least...he _did"_

Wow. Shadow hated violence?! I can't believe that Shadow actually hated violence at some point in his life. I mean c'mon he probably loves gory movies and video games like Manhunt or Final Destination.

"So... when are you going to start school?"

"I..." she hesitated, "I'm not sure" she said. "Maybe I can help you with the paperwork so you can attend Mobius High" I suggested. "That would be great" she said with a smile. "Thank you, Amy"

I looked at my watch and saw it was 1 a.m. "Maria...are you sleepy yet?" I asked with a yawn. Then I remembered I had to go to school tomorrow. Oh no!

"Well a little..." she replied. "Okay then. Let's get ready to go to sleep" I said.

—Shadow's POV—

I woke up the next morning at 6 a.m. My alarm clock's ring was so painfully loud that it felt as if someone was sinking Goddamn needles into my fucking ears! I growled and punched it as hard as I could, breaking it.

Great! now I had to buy a new one.

I got up, got dressed and walked to school. I didn't really wanted to go to school. Could be because it was Monday. Or Maybe it was because of what happened last nig-

Shit!

Now I would have to face Maria. She will probably be dissapointed in me for using violence (which she hated) or scared. But I stopped my tracks when I realized something. Something I hadn't thought about before.

Maria doesn't go to this school!

Looks like I'm in luck!

—Sonic's POV—

Tails, Manic, and I walked to school silently. If Sonia was here she'd be talking like there was no tomorrow! She just talks and talks and talks! We'll most girls do, don't they? But she was walking to school with her friends this morning.

"So" said Manic breaking the silence, "is that girl Maria hot?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"I was just asking. Jeez Tails!" said Manic. "Well she's cute. not hot, but cute" I told my brother (hey, it was true)

Tails sighed heavily as he massaged the skin between his eyes with his thumb and his index finger. "Do you think I have a chance with her?" asked Manic wagging his tail. Tails sighed again as he kept rubbing the skin between his eyes. _I wonder why he's so upset this morning._

"For Chaos' sake, Manic! You don't even know her!"

"o-okay...I-I'll stay quiet, Tails..."

Tails ran off as soon as we got to campus. Maybe he was meeting Cosmo or something. oh well, the kid can take care of himself, can't he?

"The fuck?" said Manic, but I said nothing in response. "Whatever. Let's go meet the others at the cafeteria and get some breakfast" I said. "Vale!" he said excitedly. "What?"

"That's how people in Spain say 'okay' ,dude"

"Oh...okay"

We went to the cafeteria and found Blaze, Silver, Rouge, knuckles, Marine, Tikal, Espio, and Charmy at our table. Manic and I went to get our breakfast (some chocolate milk and yogurt) and went to sit with the gang. Tails was probably hanging out with Cosmo or helping our science teacher get everything set for the day. Cream usually ate breakfast at home so, we wouldn't see her until nutrition (or recess as some people call it). But Amy wasn't there. She was usually there by now

Where was she? was she going to be late? or absent? or sick? C'mon Sonic get it together! Stop being paranoid! She's probably fine! Besides, why do you care so much?

Why did I care so much?

"Hey guys" Manic and I said at the same time. Manic growled as he looked at another table. "What's wrong, mate?" asked Marine looking at Manic. "Nothing ,Marine" answered Manic looking angry.

I looked toward the direction he was looking and saw our sister Sonia talking to her bffs Sally Acorn, Mina Mongoose, and Julie-su. Then I saw Elias, Sally's brother, sitting next to Sonia.

"So you're jelous?" asked Rouge. We all looked at Manic, who was blushing either because of the attention or because he _was _jelous. Or both, because the truth was: Manic had a crush on Sonia. Gross? Maybe, but there is an explanation to it.

Since Manic, Sonia, and I were separated at birth, we didn't grow up together. And when Sonia and Manic met each other first...uh...point is they went out and when they figured out they were related, Sonia felt forced to break up with him. She's tried moving on, unlike Manic, who's as stubborn as a mule.

"Manic and Sonia sittin' in a tree..." sang Marine making the girls, Silver and Charmy giggle. Manic turned to her and gave her a hard glare that made her go slightly pale. But then he smiled. "What are you waiting for? keep singing!" he said, making us all laugh. Honestly, I don't know what it is, but he always makes people laugh easily. I hate to admit it, but it's always slightly hard for me to make people laugh.

"So when are you going to ask Sonia out?" asked Charmy. Manic's eyes widened and he began to choke on his yogurt. Silver, knuckles, and I laughed while the rest of the gang gave us hard glares. "Not funny!" said Manic after he stopped choking. "Answer the question, Manic" said Espio."I don't know. She thinks it's wrong, and i-it is, okay? I...I don't wanna talk about this anymore" said Manic sadly. I think I could even see tears forming in his eyes.

"SHIT!"

I turned around to where the sound came from. Shadow was on the floor with his tray in front of him. I jumped up to my feet and went over to him to help him up. After he was up, he bent over and grabbed his tray (which only had a yogurt on it) and went over to sit with us.

"I swear I've had the worst morning ever! It'll probably turn out to be the worse day ever!" said Shadow. "Probably" said Knuckles. Man Knuckles always had to bring out the negative. "Shut up Knuckles!" said Tikal. "Jeez Sis! calm down" said Knuckles mocking Manic, who just ignored him.

"Why do you say that Shadow?" asked Rouge. "Well let's see...I crushed my alarm clock this morning, forgot my cell phone, fell down-"

"—and forgot your retainer"

"are you serious?!"

"Yes. You forgot it"

"Damn it!" cursed Shadow. I couldn't hold my laugh, which caused Shadow to punch me in the arm. "Ow! Cool it, Shadz!" I said. "I told you today was a bad luck day because it's the 13th, but did you listen? Noooooooo" said Charmy, who was talking to Espio. "It's Monday the thirteen, not Friday" responded Espio.

I turned to Manic with an evil grin on my face. "Hey bro. Today might be Sonia's unlucky day, and your lucky day" I said. "What do you mean?" asked Manic, giving my a confused look. "Well...let's say Sonia is changing , you forget to knock and you see her naked" I said looking at him and waiting for a funny expression.

—Shadow's POV—

Manic had a weird expression on his face, but whatever it was, it was priceless. The faker started whispering something into his ear that made him nosebleed, getting everyone's attention at the table.

"Is he having fantasies?" asked Rouge. Seriously, how does she know all this...you know what? nevermind.

Manic began to nosebleed more and covered his nose with both hands. But there was too much blood and a little bit of blood fell on his tray.

"Oh my God! Are you okay Manic?" asked Tikal worried. "Does he look okay?"

"Shut up Knuckles!"

Manic blushed and looked past me. I looked behind me to see what he was looking at. That was it, he was looking at Sonia. "Pervert" I muttered, making Rouge chuckle.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Manic?" asked Sonia jogging towards Manic and handing him some napkins. Manic took them and cleaned the blood. "Th-thank you Sonia"

Everyone at the table started "ooooooooooing" the two until she left. "Why am I still friends with you guys?" asked Manic rhetorically.

Then the bell rang and everyone left for their classes. Rouge and I had English first period together, so we left together. "Did you do the character analysis?" asked Rouge while digging through her backpack.

"DAMN IT!"

At lunch we sat at our usual table. Cosmo and Tails where there and said they were helping their science teacher grade some papers in the morning. Yeah, Right.

Cream and Charmy talked uncontrollably, Knuckles and Tikal argued uncontrollably, Blaze and Silver discussed some books they read over the weekend, Sonic teased Manic about his 'secret crush' and Rouge and I talked. I wondered if anyone noticed that Amy and Espio were gone. Where were they?

"Are you okay, hun?" asked Rouge looking worried. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You know. The whole yelling-in-front-of-Maria thing from last night" said Rouge. I really hate thinking about it. Maria was probably afraid of me now. I'm a monster!

"With all this silence I assume you don't want to talk about it" she said. "Hey Shadow!" said Silver, "what do you think of the book Petals In The Wind by V.C. Andrews?" he asked. "You mean the sequel to Flowers in The Attic?" I asked while my tail began to wag. I love Gothic horror novels! They are usually about realistic themes, but are always exaggerated. They usually talk about rape, incest, lust, and greed. I'm fucked up in the head, I know.

"It was really hot!" I answered, trying not to nosebleed at the memory of the main character, Cathy, having sex with her legal guardian, Paul. They weren't related at all, but hey I didn't write it so don't blame me. "I know right!" exclaimed Silver exitedly. "You guys are sick" mumbled Sonic and Blaze at the same time.

"I've read that series" said Rouge, "It made me cry a few times"

"Me too" admitted Silver. I also allowed my eyes to water at a few parts, but I was never going to tell anyone. "Like when their 5 years-old brother died of arsenic poisoning" I said. "Or when their sister, his twin, suicides by eating arsenic in doughnuts about ten years later" said Silver. "Or...or when Cathy was raped by her older brother Christopher" said Rouge with sadness in her eyes. "I wanted to kill him" I admitted. "She was so traumatized that she blamed herself for the rape" I added. "But they fall in love later on. Then they get married and raise _her _two children and adopt another" said Blaze. "So there's incest in the book?" asked Cosmo. "Yes!" said Blaze, Rouge, Silver, and I at the same time. "Manic should read it" said Sonic, making Manic blush. "I actually agree with Sonic for once" said Knuckles with a laugh. "You guys are so mean!" said Marine, who had just arrived. I didn't even noticed she was gone.

"I-I actually am reading it" said Manic quietly blushing. "What's incest?" asked Charmy and Cream. Everyone at the table froze and nobody said a word. "Wweeelll...incest is when uh...people who are related...have...um...f-fall in...love" said Manic, looking at Sonia's table when he said love. "But that's gross!" said Charmy makig a face. "Yeah I know. It's wrong too, but some people don't care. And sometimes there's a good reason to their love" said Manic without looking away from Sonia. He rested his right elbow on the table and rested his head against his hand like a lovesick teen.

I looked around the table to see my friends' shocked expressions (except for Cream and Charmy). That was a really mature thing for Manic to say. He usually would have said something like "when you fuck your sister" or something like that.

"So its basically its falling in love with a relative?" asked Cream. "Yeah...eeeewww" said Charmy. Everyone stayed silent, but returned to their conversations eventually. I looked at Manic, who was still looking at Sonia, so I stared at him until he felt my glare. When he finally looke at me, I asked "Manic...are you still in love with Sonia?"

"I am dude. I am. And you're in love with Maria"

"Shut the fuck up"

—Sonic's POV—

I was worried about my bro. I didn't want him to set himself up for heartbreak. But it's not like he could stop loving her in the blink of an eye.

Just like I couldn't stop liking Amy. I just don't have the guts to ask her out.

I looked at Shadow, who was staring off into space. I just knew he was thinking about Maria. Or yersteday's incident at the mall.

"Hey guys"

I turned around and saw Amy standing standarding there with a smile on her face. "Hey, Amy" I said casually. "Where have you been all day?" asked Tikal. "Well," said Amy as she sat down, "you guys are not going to believe this, but I was helping someone with paperwork"

"Why?" asked Cosmo curiously. "Well I'll just tell you now. Maria's planning on attending this school" she said. I looked at Shadow, just in time to see him spit his milk on Manic, who was sitting across from him. "DUDE! WHAT THE FUCK!?" yelled Manic with his eyes shining dark blue. One thing you_ never _want to do is get Manic or Shadow angry. Ever. The only difference is that Manic has more control over his anger. He only explodes this easily if he's had a bad day.

"I'm sorry!" said Shadow. "Calm down, bro" I said. Manic got up, walked over to where Shadow was sitting and pushed him off. "Manic. You. Are. Getting. Me. Mad" warned Shadow, showing his fangs. "Well I wouldn't be if you hadn't spit on me. If you hadn't been so shocked that the girl you were obsessed about-"

"SHUT YOUR FAGGOT MOUTH 'FORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU!"

"Make me, bitch" said Manic. At this point the whole cafeteria was looking at the two hedgehogs. I looked around and saw Tikal's worried look and Knuckles evil smile. He was eager to see the fight get started. Cosmo looked shocked and Tails was pale. I was too worried about Manic and Shadow so looked back at the scene.

Sonia came running and got between them to prevent them from starting a fight. "Guys please calm down. Violence doesn't solve anything. Manic, Shadow already said he was sorry and there was no need to said what you did. Now please don't-"

"Alright, what is going on here?!" yelled the principal, Mr. Rage, as he walked in. He was a a big gorilla with a really short temper and the abilitiy to intimidate people easily. I walked over to him and said "Nothing Mr. Rage. My sister has it under control"

"Alright then" he said and looked over at Manic, Sonia, and Shadow. Shadow was now sitting down and Sonia and Manic were leaving the cafeteria carrying their backpacks. So they probably wouldn't be back. All the students who were waiting for a fight were sitting down and were calm (sort of). "Alright, Maurice" said Mr. G, "I guess things are under control" he said before turning around and leaving.

—Manic's POV—

Sonia and I walked out of the cafeteria silently. She told me that I needed to cool down before I did something that would get me expelled or suspended. I felt so ashamed for acting like that in front of her. But at the same time I felt really happy to be next to her. It had been weeks since we had hanged out alone. Just the two of us! Just the two of us. _Just the two of us._

"Is there anything you want to talk about, brother?"

That word hurt like a knife to the heart. "No. But please, please don't call me 'brother', Sonia" I said, feeling my ears drop. "Why?" she asked, sounding a little harsh. "Because it- "

"I know it hurts but that's _all_ that you are to me" she interrupted. Sonia crossed her arms and looked at me. "No, that's all we _should _be, Sonia. But we aren't, you know why? cause we fell in love before we knew we were-"

"Alright, alright! I get your point" she said. I couldn't help to chuckle and smirk in victory. "I guess you're right, Manic" she said uncrossing her arms. I looked around the hallway and saw that it was empty. So now it was literally only the two of us. "Manic...do you still love me?" she asked. I could feel myself blushing as soon as she said that. "S-Sonia...of course I do" I said. She blushed and looked at the end of the hallway. "Manic, it's been over a year. You gotta get over me" she said without making eye contact. "I can't. I love you and...and I always will" I said. At this point I wasn't really thinking before speaking. She sighed heavily and looked at me.

Suddenly, Sonia wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips against mine. My eyes widened at her actions, because of what she had just said a couple of moments ago. Absently, I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed back, not caring who saw us. Even though I should have. I should have cared.

—Shadow's POV—

We were all silent after Manic and Sonia left. I tried to continue eating, but I couldn't help feeling guilty. It _was _my fault after all. "Um...guys.." I said a little loudly to get their attention. Everyone in the table turned to look at me. Damn! I hated when a lot of people looked at me. I hated—no— I _loathed_ being the center of attention. My heartbeat increased and I froze. But I had to say it. "I'm sorry about my behavior earlier and yersteday" I said while I looked at my friends' shocked expressions. "You...did you just apologie, Shadow?" asked Knuckles, looking puzzled. "Yes I did" I responded. Rouge put her arm on my shoulder and smiled when I looked at her. "Well I accept your apology, but I don't know about everybody else" she said. "But of course we accept your apology Shadow! Don't we guys?" said Sonic with a big smile on his face. "But of course"

"Yes!"

"Positively"

"Yeah, mate"

"mmhhmm"

"Group hug!" yelled Sonic after getting up and running over to hug me. "Nuh uh"

"No way"

"No thanks"

"No"

"No thanks, mate"

"Count me out, Hun"

Sonic's ears dropped sadly as he squeezed the life out of me. "Too...tight" I told him. "But Shadz", he whined in a girlish voice, "you're so fluffly" he said. "No offense, Sonic" Silver began, "but now you're acting um...sorta...uh sorta-"

Espio interrupted, "What Silver's trying to say is that this is funny and all but-"

"You look gay!" growled Knuckles. Sonic's ears dropped for real this time. "I was just trying to be funny" he said. "Well you're not, fag" said Knuckles before getting up and leaving. "Don't listen to him, Sonic" said Amy. "Yeah, that was pretty funny" said Tails. But then the bell rang and we had to leave.

—Manic's POV—

Tikal, Shadow, Sonic, Rouge, Blaze, Sonia, Amy and I had Physical Education together. "See you in 5" I told Sonia before turning the opposite way and walking towards the Boy's locker room.

Sonic and I met outside the locker room and walked to the gymnasium together. Sonia was already there and was talking to Sally. Shadow was also there but he was sitting on the bleachers. We went over to talk to him even though I really wanted to go and talk to Sonia.

Shadow and Sonic began to talk about something (I wasn't paying attention). "Screw it" I mumbled before going over to Sonia and Sally. "Hey guys" I greeted as I approached them. "Hi Manic" said Sally while Sonia just smiled. "What are you guys doing?" I asked only realising how stupid that sounded seconds later. "Of nothing, just waiting for Mina" answered Sonia.

Mina got there about 3 minutes later along with Julie-Su and Fiona Fox. I hated Julie and Fiona so fucking much! They were so bitchy and obnoxius.

"Hey Manic!" said Mina smiling at me. I smiled back and said " Hey Mina"

"Hey ladies...and Manic" I heard a male voice say from behind me. _Please don't let it be him. Please, please don't let it be him!_

I turned around to face Scourge. He was wearing the same thing as everyone else (the P.E. uniform) which was basically a white T-shirt and red shorts. "Hey Scourge" I said. He chuckled. "Hey there" he said. Fuck, I just hated him so much!

I turned away from him to face Sonia and growled at what I saw. Elias was hugging her. It might have been a 5 second hug, but a hug was a hug!

"A bit overprotective, don't ya think?" said Scourge. "Yep!" said Fiona. "Shut the fuck up, faggot" I said. "THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" yelled Scourge at the exact same moment Coach Wolfeistein walked in. "SCOURGE! To the principal's office NOW! YOU GET A REFERRAL FOR LANGUAGE!" yelled Coach Wolfeinstein. I looked at Scourge, who was glaring at me. "You're dead" he whispered, then left the gym.

We lined up as we usually did and began to warm up. I stood behind Sonia and Sonic stood to my left. "Bend down and touch your toes" said Coach.

_Crap._

"I can't believe you got a boner in P.E." said Shadow teasingly. "Shut...up" I said while trying not to remember what happened.

*Flashback*

Coach Wolfeinstein approached me while I was drinking water from a water fountain. "Uh son...you have my permission to...uh...go to the restroom" he whispered. I looked at him puzzled and asked "What do you mean?"

He pointed at the floor and said, "Go take care of that, son"

It took me about 10 seconds to realize what he meant.

*end of flashback*

"At least I can control my hormones" said Shadow. "Whatever" I said. It was 6th period (Science class) and Shadow and I were 'working'. Our teacher, Ms. Mou, believed in independent study and some other bullcrap. She told us to read 10 pages of our Science textbook every night! Yeah, like we lived for school. Like we didn't have lives besides school! She was nice, but she never teached us anything. We always had to discover things for ourselves and research.

Shadow and I kept talking as we pretendd to get work done (like always) until the bell rang.

RIIIIIINNGGGGG!

For 5 seconds, it seemed as if there was a stampede in the halls!

"Man, today's youth really hates school" exclaimed Shadow. I laughed. "Ha! Do I hve to remind you that you are part of 'today's youth' too?" I said. "Legally yes, technically no"

"Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm technically in my late 50's but I'm legally your age. So_ technically _I'm _not_ part of today's youth"

I kept quiet, knowing that I had lost the goddamn argument. We kept walking to Shadow's house, because we always hang out at his place after school. I guess you could say I'm his best guy friend since Rouge is his best friend.

"So how are you gonna deal with Maria being around tomorrow?" I asked before taking a sip of of my Tecate. "I...I don't know" answered Shadow after taking a sip of his. I honestly don't know how he got the alcoholic bebrages, but I kinda didn't care. As long as we didn't get in trouble.

"One thing I know for sure though" said Shadow, "is that I won't have the same accident you did in P.E."

"SHADOW!"


	3. Chapter 3

—Shadow's POV—

I walked to school the next morning. Good thing I was able to put alarms in my phone because if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have woken up.

I got to school a bit early (I noticed because only Espio and Charmy were there) so we talked while the others got there. "Try not to make a scene when Maria arrives" ordered Espio. I simply responded, "I won't"

_I don't follow orders, asshole._

Everyone got there eventually and basically told me the same thing.

"Stay calm no matter what happens"

"Try not to explode, mate"

"Don't embarrass yourself, hun"

"Yeah, yeah...I can control myself guys" I responded, making everyone look at me suspiciously as if it was a lie. "Well speak of the devil" whispered Manic elbowing me. I saw Amy and Maria walk in the cafeteria and towards the table.

_'Shit! I can't! I can't do this! Maybe they won't see me if I leave before they see me' _I thought. But it was too late. They had already sat down and were saying their hello's and good mornings.

Maria was sitting across from me, while Amy was sitting across from Manic (who sat to my right). We were set up!

I looked at Maria straight in the eye and she looked back at me with a blank expression on her face.

I wanted to speak but my throat felt like a knot and my mouth was dry. My palms were sweaty and my heart beat rapidly. Goddamn it. Goddamn it. GODDAMN IT!

"Maria," I began, "I...I'm sorry about my behavior the other day. I couldn't...couldn't control my anger, and I'm sorry" I said apologetically. She kept on looking at me with that expressionless face for a couple of seconds before smiling and saying "it's alright, Shadow"

I smiled at her and she smiled back. Then we began talking.

—Manic's POV—

I looked over at Sonia who was talking to Elias... _again._

I hated the fact that he talked to her and hung out with her. I don't know why, I just never liked Elias. I hated him. I _loathed _him!

I looked at Shadow, who was talking to Maria. He had a slight blush on his muzzle and didn't look so angry as he always did. He looked just like he did that day in Freshmen year.

No no no. I couldn't think about that. I promised myself I wouldn't talk or think about that ever again.

Shadow and Maria hung out all day and talked and talked and talked! (even though they were very quiet at first. I guess Maria didn't really care about Shadow losing his temper in front of her. I didn't even bother to walk home with him and Maria. I don't like being the third wheel.

I walked home alone that day. Sonic had Anime Club after school and Sonia probably got a ride from a friend. I walked inside my house after unlocking the door (which was usually unlocked when somebody was in the house) and went to my room. To my surprise, Sonia was there.

Reading my Journal.

"SONIA!" I yelled furiously, getting her attention. She looked up at me and sat up on the bed. "Um...hi Manic" Sonia said nerviously. I walked in the room and closed the door behind me. "Why are you in my room?" I asked, then crossed my arms. "I uh ...um..."

"And why are you reading my journal?" I asked furiously. "You mean your diary?" Sonia asked raising a brow. "It is not a diary!" I protested embarrassed. Sonia looked up at me with an evil smirk. She winked at me before looking down at my journal again. "I cannot believe that so much beauty can exist in one person. She's so talented, intelligent and nice too" Sonia read out loud. I felt amazingly embarrassed at that moment.

Sonia walked over to me and kissed me in the cheek. "You're so sweet, Manic" Sonia said as she gave me a kiss on my left cheek. "But just so you know, that's not the only thing I read, and I gotta say...you're a pervert" she said with a giggle. I chuckled nervously at the thought of her reading _that_ kind of stuff in my diary.

Sonia leaned in closer to me and whispered "I like that about you"

Just when I couldn't be more confused, she locked her lips with mine.

— *—*—*—

I went to school the next morning. I was the first one to leave the house, so I walked alone. It's not like I actually wanted to walk with anyone anyway, especially Sonia. Things had gotten a little out of had the night before and it would be too akward to face her.

I got to school time later, got breakfast and sat with the others. While I was eating, a purplish figure caught my eye as it became closer to a brownish one. I turned my head to see Sonia with her arms around Elias. Kissing him.

I growled. She has a boyfriend and... and her...and I...

"Bro? You okay?"

"She said she loved me..." I murmured.

"what?"

I grabbed my backpack and stormed out of the cafeteria, ignoring my friends' calls.


End file.
